Madame Louise

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Madame Louise
"Madame Louise" (1951).jpg
Directed by Maclean Rogers
Screenplay by Michael Pertwee
Based onthe play Madame Louise (1945) by Vernon Sylvaine
Produced by Ernest G. Roy
Starring Richard Hearne
Petula Clark
Garry Marsh
Cinematography Wilkie Cooper
Edited by Charles Hasse
Music by Wilfred Burns
Production
company
Distributed by Butcher's Film Service (UK)
Release date
1 October 1951 (UK)
Running time
88 minutes [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Madame Louise (also titled "The Madame Gambles"), is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and produced by Ernest G. Roy and starring Richard Hearne, Petula Clark, Garry Marsh and Richard Gale. [2] It is loosely based on the 1945 play Madame Louise by Vernon Sylvaine, which had featured Alfred Drayton and Robertson Hare, but was extensively reworked to suit the different stars of the film production.

Contents

Plot summary

In order to settle her debts, the owner of a dress shop transfers control to a bookmaker, Mr Trout. Trout is wanted by a gang of criminals and much mayhem follows, causing the usual stunts by Mr Pastry. He has patented a dress, modelled by the resourceful assistant Miss Penny (Petula Clark), which can be transformed from a day dress to an evening dress and other modes by the removal of the sleeves and part of the skirt. A good deal of slapstick is involved, with Hearne's acrobatic agility being much in evidence. All is well at the end of the film as the dress shop owner recovers her business (due to Mr Pastry's incompetence) and Pastry is rewarded by being made her business partner.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This is not a particularly good comedy even of its type; it may amuse firm Mr. Pastry fans but Petula Clark is completely wasted in a coy love affair". Today's Cinema wrote: "The production word, if unpretentious, is competent; and the experienced hand of Maclean Rogers has kept the action moving fast and furiously. A pleasant little film successfully aimed at the vast market for unsophisticated British comedy...Richard Hearne virtually carries the whole film, which owes all its best moments to his unflagging agility." [3]

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References

  1. "MADAME LOUISE - British Board of Film Classification".
  2. "Madame Louise (1951)".
  3. "The Films of Petula Clark - Madame Louise".